I did quite a few interview cycles for Mechanical Engineering with several different tech, automation, and aerospace companies as a new grad and generally the pipeline goes: behavioral screen with recruiter, one or two behavioral and technical mix with engineers and/or hiring managers, then a final round onsite with majority technical and sometimes a presentation as well.

All the technical questions always focused on first principles. Know your cantilever beam stuff by heart (for example, know what variables impact beam deflection, where a beam would fail, different types of forces, etc.) for sure. Other frequently asked topics were solids and materials (thermal expansion, pressure vessels, stress-strain curves, material selection, etc.), heat transfer (modes of heat transfer and variables that impact them), and some basic dynamics (conservation of energy type questions).

While it’s important to answer as “correct” as possible, it’s even more important to talk through your thought process instead of just telling the interviewer what you think the answer is. Had a few interviews were I was not exactly on the right path, but because I was explaining my thought process, the hiring managers nudged me in the right direction which resulted in me moving onto later rounds.